Day: July 15, 2023

Over half of the women interviewed at awareness-raising and training workshops on the promotion of human and women’s rights principles said they were unaware of the existence of Law No. 58 on the elimination of violence against women (64%), at a time when 84% of these women had been victims of various forms of gender-based violence, the NGO “Ensemble pour la citoyenneté et le changement” (Together for Citizenship and Change) said on Saturday in its final report on the “Femmes libres” (Free Women) project.

Financed by the Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders (EMHRF) and the Fondation France, this project targeted 40 women, including 10 from the governorate of Gafsa, 10 from the governorate of Siliana and 20 from the governorate of Ben Arous, from vulnerable groups such as women victims of violence and socially marginalised women, in addition to single mothers subject to social stigmatisation.

Since July 2022, the NGO has organised 3 awareness-raising and information workshops on issues of social violence and the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination against women, in addition to 6 training workshops on citizenship and participation in public, political and associative life, with a view to increasing the role of women in political decision-making positions.

In a statement to the media, head of the NGO Mohamed Ouled Rahila indicated that the results of the project’s activities had confirmed that cases of violence against women are on the rise despite the existence of an arsenal of laws, the most important of which is law no. 58 of 2017, adding that the increase in femicides is a dangerous indicator when it comes to human rights.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

As the sun sets on the shores of Lake Victoria, a cool breeze wafted through the Hippo Point compound where the local residents had converged for the Fish Fiesta festival.

Several activities were lined up geared at protecting, conserving, and aggressively marketing Lake Victoria tourism, marine transport, water sports, climate moderation as well as the water reservoir for agriculture, industry, and domestic use.

A young budding artist is thrilling her adorable fans including the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Heritage, Ms Peninah Malonza, and Kisumu County Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o among other dignitaries with a memorable scintillating performance.

The frenzied crowd hummed and danced along to her fast-paced, energetic beats and lyrics as they requested an encore.

A new talented Queen has been born in the lakeside city of Kisumu.

She serenades her Rap Music kingdom and rapping is her forte. In the next 5-10 years, she sees herself becoming a global superstar.

Passionate, determined, committed and focused are the words that aptly describe and welcome you into the world of 12-year-old Quinter Akinyi, with the stage moniker of Queen Rose. The name was coined from her name (Quinter) and her mother’s (Rose).

‘My songs are always messages highlighting issues affecting young children. So, I am their ambassador representing the voices of the voiceless. I also infuse in my songs old children’s games which people tend to forget about,” she said during an exclusive interview with KNA at their Kanyamedha home in Kisumu East Sub-County.

Steadily scaling the heights, Queen Rose says that she desires her songs to evoke emotions in her listeners, tell stories, and paint vivid pictures.

The budding artist born in 2010 began singing aged 8 after closely monitoring her brother Hannington Otieno, aka Valiant VivenBoy who is her acting manager-cum-musician.

Queen Rose remembers that one day when her brother came back from school, he found her singing his songs and he immediately took her to the studio for recording.

‘I rap but I can sing any type of song to satisfy my loving fans. I have also done gospel, reggae, acoustic bongo, kapuka and tech beat genge tones,” explained the Grade 7 pupil at Kanyamedha Junior Secondary School.

She adds that she attends school from Monday to Friday, but after completing her homework, she goes to the studio or practices freestyle during the weekends.

She continues; ‘My first song was Nani. It was an introductory song and I wanted people to know who I am.”

Boasting 12 songs, over 20 audios churned out and counting, her brother is the one who mostly writes the songs and she also writes some freestyles.

Some of her hit songs are November 17th, Safcom, Stingo, Chumbu, Dancehall, Brikicho, and Tobina, among others.

‘My favorite song is Chumbu because I mentioned the names of all the celebrities and genge music artists in it,” she said.

Applauding the continued support from her mother, Queen Rose aspires to become an Aeronautical Engineer and she enjoys learning subjects like Mathematics and Business studies.

Could it be because every day she watches as planes fly past their house as they land at the nearby Kisumu International Airport?

‘Planes are beautiful and I love them. In school, I do enjoy learning subjects like Mathematics and Business studies,” smiled the lyrical queen reassuringly.

As a hobby, the mic mistress loves to play football for her school and estate team as a central midfielder.

‘Our team is called Kodongo Green Stars. We normally play inter-estate games and participated in some tournaments,” she happily remarked.

Ms Rose Achieng, her mother says that her daughter’s music career started like a joke.

‘I am her number one fan and with their brother, I have been very supportive of their music careers. I used to love playing netball but lacked the necessary support,” Achieng reveals.

She stressed that paying Queen Rose’s school fees has been a challenge and the constant mocking she experienced due to her ‘Big Title’ while in her previous school.

Achieng advices fellow parents to be supportive of their children for them to fully tap into their potential.

‘Surprisingly no one in her family lineage was a musician. I used to see my father play, listen and dance to songs from his many tape cassette collections. That’s how I developed an interest in music and started singing at a tender age,” Valiant recalls adding that his father died in 2010 a few months before Queen Rose was born.

Interestingly, his elder brother Jared Odhiambo aka Jaro the Dancer is another promising Tiktok dance artist.

Valiant further informs that he temporarily sacrificed his music ambition to help in guiding and managing her sister’s music career.

Rap as a music genre, was first recorded in the 1970s and is deeply rooted in African-American culture. Different rappers come up with their own style, flow, and story to tell. Globally, it continues to evolve and is heard by people from all walks of life.

Some of the renowned Kenya female rappers are Stella Mwangi (STL), Nazizi Hirji, Petra, Muthoni the Drummer Queen, and Rosa Ree amongst others.

Her achievements, she points out include performing at different events to share her thoughts with themed messages to her target audience.

‘My memorable performance was during my first show at Ojola Centre (Kisumu East), Onagi Shows, Kisumu Cultural Festival 2023 which was graced by Cabinet Secretary Sports, Youth Affairs and Arts Ababu Namwamba, among others,” Queen Rose confirmed.

She has collaborated with comedian-cum-musician, Eric Omondi in releasing the song titled ‘November 17th” featuring Lafrik Band, Kushman, and recently Triman.

‘I wish to collaborate with rappers like Khaligraph Jones, Chameleone (Uganda), Darasa (Tanzania), and Sheba (Uganda) to release songs. I like their music styles and composition because they resonate with mine,” she emphasized.

Queen Rose mentions the lack of adequate money to pay music and video producers for them to release her song in the studios as a major setback experienced so far in her music career.

Some of her songs were produced by Amocare Music and Mabonge Beats.

‘Getting a reliable sponsor has been a thorn in our flesh. Most people have been taking advantage of us and leaving us in our time of need,’ Valiant lamented.

In many instances, Valiant reveals that they have walked long distances with her sister after failing to be paid by some event organisers. He can’t forget having a few run-ins with some music producers.

‘When an artiste has performed, they need to be paid for them to be motivated and work extra hard,’ he stressed.

But now, he reveals that they have a good professional manager, King George who has shown a true spirit and good interest in helping Queen Rose.

I am calling upon any well-wishers to help us nurture this raw talent for her to reach the music pinnacle of stardom,” he vouched for his younger sister.

Currently, Queen Rose has released a new fans-game song named ‘Tapo Tapo’. To stay focused on her school work, she has suspended her performances until the end term in December. Her next big project is to perform at the forthcoming Kaya Festival bringing together various reggae artists to be hosted in Kisumu on December 7.

According to her brother, the festival will also feature Mbogi Gengetone, Itals, Blue Fire, and many more.

Her parting shot to young, talented, and upcoming artists is that they should not give up, but tirelessly continue to pursue their dreams.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The 57th edition of the Carthage International Festival (FIC) kicked off on Friday evening with Fadhel Jaziri’s “Mahfel,” a two and a half hour modern Bedouin show.

This year’s FIC takes place July 14-August 19 at the Roman Amphitheatre in Carthage, which has been given a new scenography with red sets designed for the show.

The sold-out opening night was attended by Minister of Cultural Affairs Hayet Ketat Guermazi.

In Mahfel, tradition rhymes with modernity, creating a crossover between several artistic worlds: folksongs coexist with revisited dances, and traditional instruments with Western ones.

This show, co-produced by the Carthage International Festival, the Théatre de l’Opéra and the Centre des Arts in Djerba, is an artistic production rooted in the sound traditions and popular songs of Tunisia, still performed at wedding celebrations, notably Bedouin.

All the rituals that characterise the Mahfel, a name that means wedding feast in southern Tunisia, have been brought together in a fantastic show.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

An Algerian young man was killed when a heavy lorry skidded off the RN 12 between Kesra (Siliana) and Hafouz (Kairouan) late on Friday evening, a civil protection source said.

The accident had been caused by the skidding of a lorry loaded with sugar from Algeria, he explained to TAP, adding that the lorry had caught fire as a result of the skidding and collision with another lorry, which had led to the death on the spot of the young driver.

The deceased is a 28-year-old Algerian man, a National Guard source confirmed.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

A Jamaican-American centenarian, Irwin Alexander Kiffin, is currently in Seychelles and attended the renewal of the wedding vows of one of his family members in the island nation on Tuesday.

Kiffin, aged 101, left the United States on July 4, travelled to Kenya where he went on several safaris and arrived in Seychelles for the first time with 16 relatives on Monday, July 10.

Seychelles’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, called on Kiffin at his presidential villa at the Constance Ephelia Seychelles resort on Thursday. He presented a souvenir to Kiffin, who is the first centenarian to travel to Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean.

The general manager of Constance Ephelia Resort, Stephane Duchenne, organised a small get-together for him and his family.

Kiffin cutting his cake in a small get-together at Constance Ephelia Resort. (Department of Tourism) Photo License: CC-BY

Daily newspaper Seychelles Nation spoke to his cousin Errol Harris, who said that the centenarian is an active man and has travelled the world accompanied by his large group of relatives.

Kiffin’s two daughters, Valerie Kiffin Lewis and Arleen Haywood, with whom he lives in Florida, are also part of the group.

Valerie Kiffin said her father is a celebrity everywhere they go and sometimes gets into trouble at airports when they get confused about 1922, the year her father was born.

She described her father as a man of principle, an amazing person and a good role model.

Valerie said she sold her house to move with her sister Arleen to take care of her father.

Asked how he could stay so fit and healthy, Kiffin said the daily walks and other exercises help him.

His daughter Valerie said that her father’s daily routine includes a two-mile walk followed by hours of gardening.

“He did the whole safaris, waking up at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. and going the whole day, sometimes even on two safaris a day,” she added.

Born on February 11, 1922, in Jamaica, Kiffin was the youngest member of a family of 12. He lost his mother as a baby and was raised by relatives.

He attended school until 15 years old when he had to work to earn a living and his first job was as a mechanic. He then migrated to the United States and worked in a paper-making factory.

Kiffin said that through hard work he could raise his four children who are now a lawyer, a judge, a doctor and a basketball player.

“Today, I am happy! More than happy!” he said.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

Angolan ambassador to the United States Agostinho Van-Dúnem received Friday in Washington the chairperson of the Eximbank, Reta Jo Lewis.

According to a note from the Angolan Embassy in the US, the meeting aimed at preparing the meetings between the Eximbank and the Angolan Executive, which should take place in Luanda, Angola.

The diplomat expressed the Angolan government’s availability to work with the Eximbank on ensuring the funding for the ongoing projects.

The ambassador described the projects approved as crucial, as they had aroused great expectations, mainly the allocation of the Lobito Corridor.

During her stay in Angola, the chairperson of Eximbank will meet with various entities linked to the economic, social, financial, transport and energy sectors.

Eximbank boss thanked for the invitation and said that she was pleased with her coming in Angola to work on various Eximbank projects.

She expressed her willingness to work with the private sectors and small companies.

Reta Jo Lewis also took the opportunity to invite Ambassador Agostinho Van-Dúnem to visit, between the end of August and the beginning of September this year, the Eximbank premises.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

In a move to improve the outcome of coral restoration undertaken by hotels in Seychelles, Nature Seychelles, a non-profit environmental organisation, has developed a new low-tech method to monitor the survival and growth of coral transplants.

Nature Seychelles undertook the first restoration of a patch of reef with the new method at Petite Anse Kerlan, located close to the Constance Lemuria 5-star resort on Praslin, the second largest island of Seychelles.

Called “boutique restoration”, the Nature Seychelles team tailored this method specifically for hotels, as it meets the needs of tourism establishments while complying with the science-based principles of ecological restoration.

In a publication presenting the methodology and the first outcome, the lead author Sarah Frias-Torres said there is an increase in the number of corporate environmental responsibility activities at hotel resorts geared towards coral reef restoration. This is an endeavour that offers a significant opportunity for the advancement of coral reef conservation and a new socioeconomic sector.

“However, the scarcity of user-friendly monitoring methods for hotel staff, robust enough to detect changes over time, hinders the ability to quantify the success or failure of the restoration activity,” said the press release.

To overcome this problem, Nature Seychelles ensured that the method developed is easy for staff to implement without scientific training, using the standard resources available at a hotel resort.

Transplanted corals are photographed with a reflective square tile in the field of view, after which an underwater map of the site is developed, allowing navigation and re-sighting of the monitored colonies.

The method was tested on a boutique coral reef restoration site in Seychelles. (N. Thake, Nature Seychelles) Photo License: Photo License: CC-BY

To monitor survival and growth over time, divers use the map and the reflective tiles to find the corals. Once identified, the status of the coral status is recorded and a photograph is taken.

The size of the coral in the digital images is measured using open-source software.

The project at Petite Anse Kerlan, which was evaluated over a year, saw the transplanting of 2,015 corals. The branching, encrusting, and massive corals used at the site, located within 50 metres off the Petite Anse Kerlan beach, were grown by the Nature Seychelles Reef Rescuers team in midwater ocean nurseries within the Cousin Island Special Reserve. These corals were survivors of the 1998 mass coral bleaching event that happened in Seychelles.

“The monitoring method was robust enough to detect the expected survival of coral transplants, with encrusting and massive corals outperforming branching corals. Survival of encrusting and massive corals was higher than that of branching corals,” according to the study.

The team recorded an increase in the colony size by 10.1 square centimetres and noticed that branching coral survivors grew faster than massive or encrusting corals.

The project was funded through grants by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and Seychelles’ Mainstreaming Biodiversity Project to Nature Seychelles.

The chief executive of Nature Seychelles, Nirmal Shah, said that the organisation has a long history of collaborating with the private sector for ecosystems and species restoration.

“We have helped island management and owners on Cousine, Fregate, D’Arros, and Denis islands, among others, to restore their islands. Importantly all these projects have been underpinned by sound science, the methods made available as manuals and toolkits, and the results published in peer-reviewed journals,” said Shah.

Source: Seychelles News Agency